


The nature of cacti seed.

by TheoFromTheBox



Category: Naruto
Genre: Family Bonding, Family Feels, Gen, Sand Siblings-centric, Sunagakure | Hidden Sand Village, kankuro has feelings about things and he is not happy about that! at first
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:40:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28652898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheoFromTheBox/pseuds/TheoFromTheBox
Summary: Gaara had become so strange lately.Always hovering on the edge of this invisible border Kankuro and Temari had built around themselves.Stones carved from secrets and resentment and the all-encompassing quiet surrounding their feelings had been laid one after another until this wall had become so high, neither of them could catch a glimpse of the top.They were blind for one another.And only now, after Uzumaki Naruto had crashed into their lives like a sledge hammer gone loose, could they really see this border clearly.For the first time in forever, all of them wanted to breach it. But neither of them knew how.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 42





	The nature of cacti seed.

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Kankuro heard his sisters call echo all the way from the foyer, down the crooked flight of stairs and into his workshop. 

_Finally!_

Wiping the last remnants of wood polish from his hands he practically jumped out of his chair. 

It was about time they got a new mission! 

“Comin’!” He shouted back.

Driven less by the excitement of the job and more by the emptiness of his wallet Kankuro tossed the greasy cleaning rag into the hamper next to his door and shouldered Kuroari.  
He threw one last critical glance back at the puppet project he had been tinkering with for those last three weeks, before the door shut behind him for however long this mission would take. 

His excitement about finally getting his hands on this direly needed money boost, so he could buy the last pieces necessary for the completion of his project, got spoiled only by the prospect of having his brother around. 

Gaara had become so strange lately. 

Always hovering on the edge of this invisible border Kankuro and Temari had built around themselves. 

Stones carved from secrets and resentment and the all-encompassing quiet surrounding their feelings had been laid one after another until this wall had become so high, neither of them could catch a glimpse of the top. 

They were blind for one another. 

And only now, after Uzumaki Naruto had crashed into their lives like a sledge hammer gone loose, could they really see this border clearly. 

For the first time in forever, all of them wanted to breach it. But neither of them knew how. 

Kankuro shuffled upstairs, taking his time, after his sudden burst of enthusiasm had fizzled out as quickly as it had flared up. 

He couldn’t quite keep his shoulders from slumping. 

Dust particles danced in the last rays of warm afternoon sun. Soon, night would swallow the desserts heat and leave cold starlight in its wake. 

Night, Kankuro had noticed in those past few weeks since Gaara had properly moved in with them, had the peculiar ability to wash out some of their hard edges. 

All the cracks and crannies the unrelenting sun cast in harsh shadows, full of blunders and awkward stares, seemingly disappeared into the softness of the night.

Not that it hadn’t been awkward to run into Gaara at two in the morning, perched up on the kitchen counter and nose buried deep in a book. Silently waiting for the tea kettles whistle. 

Gaara had never read on missions, or did anything, really, except being on high alert. A crossbow string ready to rapture. 

At the best of times Kankuro had thought of his brother as a rearranged mosaic of broken pieces, held together purely by spite. At the worst, he saw nothing but a monster. 

But now, catching him cleaning the dishes, slipping out of their bathroom whisper silent and wrapped in a towel so large it nearly reached down to his ankles, red hair sticking up every which way, Kankuro couldn’t un-see just how- human he was. 

How _young._

Appearing almost lost in the mansions giant kitchen while he cast glances at Kankuro over the pages of his book.

_What had the squirt been reading again?_

Kankuro couldn’t remember. 

He should probably check if Gaara had started packing up for the mission already. Just in case he hadn’t heard. 

And because Temari was a hell to deal with once she grew tired of waiting. What she always did. After ten seconds or so. Overflowing with impatient energy eager to burst out. 

Yeah, he really didn’t want to deal with that today. 

That was all. 

There was the faintest tremor in Kakuros hand as he knocked on Gaaras door. The white wood felt warm under his rough knuckles. 

The door gave under them, gliding open with a soft creak. 

Kankuro froze.

“Hey, Gaara.” Damn puberty making his stupid voice break. He tried to clear his throat as inconspicuous as possible. “Temari just called so I-“

He discovered the room already empty. 

Not that Kankuro had tried to peek inside, of course. His foot had nudged the door open a few more centimeters purely by accident. 

It looked just like it had on the day he and Temari had heaved a simple single bed inside, mounted some wooden planks on the walls and crammed a big desk under the round window that Kankuro had sanded down and painted over to cover the signs of use, edged into the wood. The traces of a past they longed to leave behind.  
Just like the old furniture and trinkets they had tossed out, forgotten by whoever used to life here an eternity ago, rotting away on dusty shelves and old boxes. 

Now it looked strangely empty. 

Lacking in a way Kankuro couldn’t quite pin down. Despite Gaaras clothes strewn about his untouched bed and his books in the shelves. 

It didn’t look like I a home at all!

_Who the fuck are we kiddin’ playing house?_

“Kankuro! Where the hell are you?!”

Temari’s cry threatened to spark the kindle of anger flickering in his chest into a raging forest fire, when his eyes suddenly caught sight of the little potted cactus plant sitting idly on Gaaras window sill, basking in the last sunbeams of the day.

It was the cactus Kankuro had awkwardly placed on Gaaras desk, mumbling, “For your room“, before he had bolted out the door.

The pot was a different one, bigger and purple, not the small brown ceramic cup that had come with the plant, but the cactus was the same round prickly ball he had picked out at the market weeks ago. 

Just a bit larger now. The tiny red blossom on its tip in full bloom. 

Kankuro suddenly remembered what book it was Gaara had read in their kitchen late at night.

A plant care guide.

The smile spreading across Kankuros face was so wide it nearly hurt as he skipped the last few meters down the hall.

“Jeez I said I’m comin’!”

Something had begun to grow, on the barren land between them.

Something fragile.

Something tender.

Something, like hope.


End file.
